Putting the flavour back into greenhouse strawberries

Research is ongoing to develop strawberries that are better suited to be grown in Canadian greenhouses, with a focus on improved yield as well as taste. The berry is a staple in Canadian kitchens, though our climate means we rely heavily on imported product. ~ Farmphotos.ca photo

By Luke Edwards

Canadians love eating strawberries, but our challenging climate has historically made it impossible to grow enough of the popular fruit to satiate our tastebuds.

Fortunately, work is ongoing by a team of researchers to develop new strawberry genetics and create a plant that will work indoors. Given the number of traits researchers need to consider, it’s a tall task.

However, in a presentation to visitors at the Canadian Greenhouse Conference last month, Agriculture Canada Research Scientist Jason Lanoue discussed some of the progress he and his team have made.

“Canadians eat a ton of strawberries…but we don’t grow a lot of strawberries. We import about $700 million worth of strawberries every single year,” he said.

For the most part, those imports happen in the winter months, where locally grown field strawberries simply aren’t available.

On top of that, Lanoue said many greenhouse operators are looking to diversify, as diseases for greenhouse tomatoes and peppers have created challenges.

However, strawberries can also be susceptible. Lanoue said there was a stretch in recent years where greenhouse production of strawberries increased in Canada, though the last couple years saw things plateau and even drop, thanks in part to neopestalotiopsis, a fungus that can affect strawberry plants both in fields and in greenhouses. A particularly difficult strain of the pathogen has recently emerged, and Lanoue said it did a number on Canadian growers.

Greenhouse production also dropped in part because Lanoue said growers were promised 15 kilograms or more of yield per square metre.

“And the genetics weren’t there,” he said.

That’s where he and his team come in. They’ve been working on a breeding program to develop a strawberry plant that hits several key metrics: size, colour, yield, disease resistance and taste, among them.

His update on the trial showed a few promising strains, with the team narrowing options down. While there’s more work to be done, he said there have been some hopeful signs. A four-month growing cycle saw production that would have averaged out to about 10 kg per square metre, not the promised 15, but getting closer. However, fruit size decreased as time went on, and Lanoue said North American consumers tend to prefer larger berries.

On the flip side, the team is looking for ways to decrease the actual plant size, as larger plants can present disease and crop management challenges in greenhouses.

Results on taste were a little mixed. Lanoue said lab tests showed nothing terribly special, however a taste panel of growers showed their strains performing as good or better than a control variety, and superior to grocery store bought berries.

One of the side benefits of having more locally grown greenhouse strawberries is the fact they can be picked and shipped closer to peak ripeness. California strawberries are intentionally picked when they’re still firm, because those firm berries are easier to ship. The tradeoff is taste.

Lanoue said they also have to do some testing, but there’s some potential neopestalotiopsis resistance in their breeding program.

Research is ongoing, with Lanoue said they’ll be continuing to look at improving the genetics and do testing over longer production cycles. They’ll also continue tinkering with different lighting regimes. 